Boston Bruins: Zdeno Chara takes puck to the face in Game 4

The Boston Bruins may be facing a Game 5 without their captain Zdeno Chara, after he took a puck to the face in the second period of their 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues.

Whilst Zdeno Chara did return to the Boston Bruins bench sporting a full-face cage, he didn’t head back out onto the ice in the third period. He also appeared quite limited in his ability to open his jaw.

Whether this was purely a case of the cameras catching him only at times whilst he was engaged in the game and thus not talking or whether this is an actual issue shall remain up in the air for now.

However, should it be a broken jaw or injury of that sort, it seems unlikely that the Boston Bruins will have their captain available as they head home to Boston for Game 5. Typically Zdeno Chara, being the guy that he is, will play through all manner of injuries. A facial injury like that though could seriously impact his ability to catch his breath after a rush and may not be worth risking.

After all, we’d rather the Boston Bruins be able to ice a full six man group of defensemen for a whole game than icing five and a half, should Zdeno Chara be expected to play injured.

The injury itself occurred due to the puck rolling off the end of his stick, redirecting an attempt by the St. Louis Blues to play the puck. Despite the instant pouring of blood, Zdeno Chara skated his own way to the bench on his own accord after shaking off the initial shock of being clocked with a puck.

It’s fair to say that at this stage of his career, Boston Bruins fans have seen it all from Zdeno Chara. The fact he skated himself of the ice is no surprise to them.

Heading into Game 5, the big questions will be what exactly is the injury that Zdeno Chara would’ve appeared to suffer? How long will he be out for? And lastly who steps in should he not be available?

The Boston Bruins have already lost Matt Grzelcyk to injury this play-off series, with no clear return date marked there. Likewise, Kevan Miller is unlikely to be returning to the ice anytime soon. It really leaves limited options with NHL experience to fill the captain’s skates.

Whilst we’re all well and good with ‘next man up’; who would you prefer on your blue line in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final – Steven Kampfer or Zdeno Chara?

Time will tell whether it’s enough of an injury to keep Chara out for any more than the couple of rest days between games. What is a relatively safe bet is that we see a return of the ‘fishbowl’ helmet, should he be back skating in Game 5.